Diagnosis of silicosis in workers employed in the stone benchtop industry in Victoria correlates with assessed exposure – 30 % of workers who assessed their exposure to stone dust as high to very high were diagnosed with silicosis , compared to 11 % with low or medium exposure ( Hoy RF 2023 ).
The first cases of silicosis in Australian engineered stone fabricators were reported in 2015 ( Frankel et al . 2015 ). Subsequent health screening of stonemasons and other engineered stone workers has revealed a high prevalence of silicosis in this cohort of workers .
As detailed in Section 2 of the Silica Decision RIS , health screening programs carried out by state and territory WHS regulators and health authorities since 2018 have determined that of the 4,743 stonemasons and engineered stone workers screened , approximately 11 % received a probable or confirmed diagnosis of silicosis because of workplace exposure to RCS . There is also a suggestion that current case numbers , particularly in NSW , are an underestimation ( Cole , Yates and Davidson 2023 ).
The time lag between RCS exposure and diagnosis presents challenges for determining current case numbers , estimating future burden , and understanding when recent initiatives to increase awareness of the risks of RCS exposure may result in fewer cases being diagnosed .
Between 2010 – 11 and 2020 – 21 p , there were 488 accepted workers compensation claims in those jurisdictions covered by the model WHS laws 1 ( Figure 1 ).
Figure 1 Total number of accepted silicosis compensation claims in jurisdictions subject to the model WHS laws , 2010 – 11 to 2020 – 21 p
Number of claims
200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Sources : Safe Work Australia ' s National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics and icare .
ACT Private
Three quarters of the claims shown in Figure 1 were accepted after mid-2018 , following the implementation of awareness and health screening programs for stonemasons and engineered stone workers .
Since 2018 , there has been an increase in the number of people aged under 35 when submitting a claim for silicosis . Over the 2011 – 12 to 2017 – 18 reference period 18 % of silicosis claims ( 7 claims ) were made by workers under the age of 35 . In the 2018 – 19 to 2020 – 21 p period , nearly half of all silicosis claims ( 46 % or 100 claims ) were made by workers in this age category ( Figure 2 ).
TAS WA SA QLD NSW
1
Victoria is excluded from this data as this jurisdiction has not implemented the model WHS laws . p denotes data are preliminary and subject to revision in future years as further claims are finalised . Figure 1 includes data from the National Data Set ( excluding Victoria ) and iCare ( NSW ).
DECISION REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT Prohibition on the use of engineered stone Page 24 of 107